Toy film viewer



` M. M. BROWN 2,570,913

, TOY FILM VIEWER Filed Sept. 22, 1948 Patented Oct. 9, 1951 MeyerM.Brown, New York, N. Y,.

vApplicationSeptember 22, 1948, Serial'No. 50,522

10 Claims.

This 'invention relates vto a toy lm viewer, y

vpfirticularly to a lm viewer; for viewing a plurality of pictures insuccessionby mea-ns .of a

. lens-:focused uponr the pictures.

One of the objects ofthe-invention is to providea toy lmviewer of thegeneral type, above 1 referred to, which is very simple and sturdy indesign and can be inexpensively manufactured.

Anothervv object ofthe invention is to provide atoy film'viewerof thegeneral type, above referred-to, which consists oifew parts, and can beeasily assembled andi disassembled for the purpose of inserting orreplacing a film so that the viewer can be handled by the operatorwithout difculty and without :theneedof technicalV skill or experience.

Another object ofthe invention, allied with the preceding one,` is"y toprovide a toy lm viewer which comprises-as principal parts, a casingincluding the lens, acover detachably secured to the casing, and supportmeans for supporting a.

film being held between the casing and the cover. Another. object ofrthe invention is to provide aznovel toy Lnlm-'viewer Aoff -the generaltype, above `referred to, shaped to simulate-a radio set or a'television set orfanother-suitable item', thev lens being insertedin-the front .wall of the casing.

Another object of the inventionis to provide a novel toy lm viewer ofthegeneral type, above referred to, comprising'a casingproviding storagespace for one` or more films.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel toy lm viewer`ofthe general type. above referredto, inwhichsuccessive picturesviewable through the lensare mounted on a circular disc cording to theinvention..

Fig, 2 isv a side vewoi Fig., 1. c Fig, 3 isa rear view ofthe viewfinderofjFig. l. I'ig.y 4 is a View of thecasing showing ytheinte- "riorthereof.

Fig. 5 isan exploded View oitheiilm viewer iaccordingto the invention.and

Fig. 6 is a planr view-of a picture bearinglm "disc as may be used inconnection with;v the .anose I0 atthe .bottom wall of casing I.

viewer.

Referring n ow tov the iigures in detail, thetoy film viewer accordingto the invention comprises a--casingl l and ay cover 2. The casing maybemadeofplastic, metal or any other suitable material. Similarly, thecover may be made-of plastic, metal Aor other material.

The casing may-beI shaped and designedto simulate aflradioreceiver set,particularlya television receiver set having a screen 3 and controlknobs 4. However; it shouldvbevunderstood that it is well withinthe-scope oithe invention to provide' any-other desired shape for. thecasing of the viewer, for instance the' casing mayfbe shaped to simulatean item of merchandise. The nlm disc, which will be more fullyexplained-hereinafter, may` then bear pictures advertisingthe itemsimulated by the shape of theviewer. Any other shape, for instance theshape of a figure,

I may also be LAKemployed which shape `rmay or may not bear a relationto :the pictures to Vbe viewed by means of the viewer.

The-front wall ofv casing 2, preferably th screen portion 3r thereof,serves-assupportfor a lens V5` which may comprise a simple magnifyinglensv or amore complicated-lens means if so desired. Thelensis-secured-to the Afront wall-of the casing by-any suitable meansland positioned in alignment` with'z-a-window 6in-cover 2. The outlineof .window 6 maybe of any suitable shape, preferably it is shapedapproximately corresponding to one of thepictures-tobe viewed. In thisexernplic-ationv of the invention, as shown, the window outline is`composed of a semi-hexagon completed by a section of the Vperipheryof-a circle, as can bestbe seen onFig. 3.

Cover 2 can be removably secured to casing Iv by .any suitable means.According to a now preferred arrangement, two noses orprojections'lvfextend from the top. wall of casing. i and.v are arranged. to engagecorresponding hooks r of coverrZ. These hooks are shown as extensions`oi the cover bent-off. at a. substantially right angle.

As will, be evident, noses ,1- andhooks .8, form two hinges forthecoverwhich is secured tothe casing along its opposite edge by meansof a somewhat springy clamp 9 arranged to snap .over It. will beapparent that it is also possibleY and quite practical-in some instancesto provide noses] andV l 0 on the cover and the hooks and thev clamp oncasing I. Furthermore, recesses engagediby the hooks may be providedinstead of projections 1'.'

"stance the front wall of casing I.

, with two slanted arms or wings I8 and I8.

The pictures to be viewed by means of the film viewer are shown as beingmounted on a substantially circular disc I I made of translucent ortransparent material suitable for use Vas a transparency, such as afilm. In the embodiment shown, five pictures are spaced about the centerof the disc, as can best be seen on Fig. 6. However, any greater orsmaller number of Dictures may be employed. Pictures may be either blackand white or colored. The term picture as used herein, is intended toinclude also print or script. It will be evident that the shape of thelm disc is not necessarily circular and that the pictures may be spacedand shaped in various manner. It is merely essential that the picturesare so disposed on a carrier that they can be successively placed inalignment with lens and window 6.

For the purpose of mounting the disc, the same is provided with a centerhole I2 by means of which the disc can be slipped on a pin I4 extendingfrom a bracket I5 secured to a `wall for in- The end of pin I4 isarranged to extend intoy a hole I6 of cover 2, thereby securing the discbetween casing and cover when the cover is secured t0 the casing.

The center of hole IB may be positioned so as to constitute the centerof rotation of the curved portion of the outline of window 5. As can beclearly seen on the figures, the position of pin I 4 and the diameter ofdisc I I are so selected that the disc protrudes slightly beyond cover 2and the top wall of casing I, thereby permitting rotation of the disc,preferably manually, about pin I4. Lens 5 is focused upon a film discsupported on the pin.

To facilitate a close t of the cover to the open side of the casingwithout impeding rotation of the disc, a recess I1 is provided at theupper edge of the casing Yand the cover is also recessed at 2' fromwhich recesses the lm disc protrudes,

thereby leaving suicient space for a free rotation of the disc.

While the described rotatable support of the disc has been found highlypractical and is precasing. Furthermore, the pin may extend directlyfrom a casing wall rather than from a bracket supported on a wall of thecasing.

It will be obviousthat any one of the pictures on disc II which isrotated into alignment with lens 5 and window 6 mav be viewed throughthe lens, the picture being framed by the window. To prevent warping orbending of a disc placed on nin I 4, thereby adversely affecting thepresentation of a picture, bracket I5 may be provided The angle of thesewings preferably corresponds approximately to the angle of therespective sides of window 6. The wings are disposed in axial alignmentwith the lens and the window. As will be apparent, wings I8 and I8'serve t0 support a film disc slipped on the pin and also assist in theframing of the pictures. Bracket I5 is preferably so disposed within thecasing that it confines storage spaces I9 and 2U in which additional nlmdiscs may be placed, thereby making it conveniently possible to vary thepictures viewable by means of the viewer.

The operation of a toy nlml viewer according t0 the invention is asfollows:

A film disc I I is placed on pin I4. Then cover 2 is secured to thecasing, the film disc now being rotatable between casing and cover. Whenthe operator now places one of his eyes close to lens 5 while holdingwindow 6 toward the light, a clear magnified presentation of the pictureplaced in alignment with window 6 will be viewable, the outline of thepicture being distinctly framed by the Window. By placing a fingeragainst the protruding portion I I' of the film disc, the operator canconveniently rotate successive pictures into alignment with the lens andthe framing window. When it is desired to exchange the lm disc, thecover is snapped off the casing and another disc is slipped on pin I4after removing the first disc.

As will appear from the previous description, the lm viewerhereindescribed o'ers the possibility of showing a great variety ofpictures. By reason of its smallness and simplicity it Vcan be eitherused as a toy for a child or as an advertising device. Y

While the invention has been described in detail with respect to acertain now preferred example and embodiment of the invention it will beunderstood by those skilled in the art after understanding theinvention, that various changes and modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention and it is intended,therefore, to cover all such changes and modifications in the appendedclaims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is: I

l. A toy nlm viewer comprising in combination a substantiallyrectangular box shaped to simulate the cabinet of a television set, therear wall of said cabinet beingopen, a lens mounted in an opening of thefront wall of said cabinet substantially flush with said wall, asubstantially rectangular cover member, clamping means on the covermember and receiving means on a wall of said cabinet engageable one withthe other for removably attaching the cover member to the cabinet, thetop wall of the cabinet being recessed to provide a slot between thecabinet and the attached cover member, said cover member including awindow positioned in optical alignment with said lens, a substantiallycircular film disc having a center hole and a plurality of transparentpictures thereon spaced about said center hole, support means extendinginto the cabinet from the front wall thereof, and a pivot pin protrudingfrom said support means for rotatably supporting the film disc in aposition in which a marginal portion thereof protrudes from said slotand in which different pictures are placed in optical alignment with thelens and the window in response to a rotation of the disc said supportmeans forming an abutment for a film disc placed on the pivot pin, saidlens being focused upon a nlm disc placed on the pivot pin.

2. A toy iilm viewer comprising in combination a generally rectangularlyshaped box, the rear -wall of said box being open, a lens mounted in anopening of the front wall of the box, a cover member for the open wallof the box, clamping means for removably attaching the cover member t0the box, said box and said cover member being shaped to form a slotbetween the top wall of the box and the attached cover member, saidcover member including a window positioned in optical alignment withsaid lens, a lm disc having a center hole and pictures thereon spacedabout said center hole, support means extending into the box from thefront wall thereof for rotatably supporting the lm disc in a position inwhich a marginal portion thereof protrudes from said slot and in whichdifferent portions of the disc are placed in optical alignment with thelens and the windo-w in response to a rotation of the disc, said supportmeans forming an abutment for a film disc placed upon the support means,said lens being focused upon a hn disc placed upon the support means.

3. A toy nlm viewer as dened in claim 2, wherein said support means areshaped and arranged to support said nlm disc at the center hole thereofand at points radially spaced from said center hole.

4i A toy lm viewer as dened in claim 3, wherein dependent wings extendfrom the support means and are arranged to support a nlm disc placedupon the support means.

5. A toy film viewer as defined in claim 2, wherein said support meansinclude a pin forming a pivot for the film disc.

6. A toy nlm viewer as dened in claim 5, wherein said cover memberincludes an aperture in alignment with said pin for securing the lm discbetween the support means and the cover member.

'7. A toy lm viewer as defmed in claim 2, wherein the edge of the topwall of the box is recessed to define together with the attached covermember the said slot for the lm disc.

8. A toy film viewer, as described in claim 2, wherein said supportmeans are shaped and arranged to form a substantially triangularabutment for a llm disc placed on the pivot pin,` the said pin beingpositioned at the apex of said triangular abutment and the optical axisbetween the lens and the window passing through the triangular spacedefined by said support means.

9. A toy lm viewer, as described in claim 2, wherein each of saidpictures on said lm disc forms an irregular polygon, and wherein theoutline of said cover member window corresponds substantially to saidoutline of a picture.

10. A toy lm viewer comprising in combination a box, the rear wall ofsaid box -being open, a lens mounted in an opening of the front wall ofthe box, a cover member for the open wall of the box, said 4box and saidcover member being shaped to form a slot between the top wall of the boxand the attached cover member, said cover member including a windowpositioned in optical alignment with said lens, a film disc having acenter hole and pictures thereon, support means extending into the boxfrom the front wall thereof for rotatably supporting the lm disc in aposition in which a marginal portion thereof protrudes from said slotand in which diierent portions of the disc are placed in opticalalignment with the lens and the window in response to a rotation of thedisc, said support means forming an abutment for a film disc placed uponthe support means, said lens being focused upon a film disc placed uponthe support means.

MEYER M. BROWN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,564,321 Bornmann Dec. 8, 19251,918,631 Burnham, Jr July 18, 1933 1,964,879 Jelinek July 3, 19342,029,415 Dennis Feb. 4, 1936 2,135,952 Stephens Nov. 8, 1938 2,189,285Gruber u Feb. 6, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 448,017 GreatBritain Aug. 24, 1934

